Dying for a Cupcake Read Online Free PDF Page A

and was leaving for college in the fall, so I needed to start interviewing for her position.
    I also had to find out if my father planned to continue working weekends for me or if I should be looking for two new employees instead of one. How to put the question to him tactfully, so he didn’t feel I was pushing him away, was the tricky part. Like my mother, who had run off to California the minute Dad was sentenced, I hadn’t trusted his innocence when he was falsely accused of embezzlement. And during the twelve years he was in jail, I’d gone to see him only once.
    I had no excuse for the former, and my reason for the latter wasn’t much better since he probably didn’t truly believe that I had developed a sort of claustrophobia after my first trip to the prison. Strangely enough, the phobia was because I had loved him so much, not because I didn’t care about him. I’d always been a daddy’s girl, and when he’d been convicted, I was shattered by both what I perceived as his betrayal of our family and his absence from my life. I missed him like crazy, but seeing him handcuffed and behind a steel-reinforced window made me feel as if I couldn’tbreathe. I had actually fainted the one and only time I’d visited.
    Now that he was out of jail, I had a chance to try to make up for my lack of faith and, worse, my lack of visits. But I hadn’t quite figured out how yet. Shoving that problem out of my mind, I continued to fuss with a display that contained flip-flops, rubber clogs, slippers, and tennis shoes—all imprinted with brightly colored cupcakes. As I was finishing up, I heard the sound of sleigh bells jingling. I hurriedly shoved the last pink sneaker into place and glanced toward the front of the store.
    Noah was standing in the entrance, scanning the shop. When he spotted me, he waved and let the door close behind him. I waved back and hurried toward him. It had been several weeks since we were able to coordinate our schedules to spend more than a few minutes together, and at least ten days since we’d been face-to-face. I had missed him and my heart sped up at the sight of him.
    As I got closer, I saw that he looked exhausted. Although his dark blond hair was flawlessly styled, I noticed that instead of tapering neatly to the collar of his crisp Dolce & Gabbana dress shirt, it curled over the starched white cotton. He’d obviously had to skip his biweekly trim. The deep lines of fatigue bracketing his mouth and the dark circles under his gray eyes gave the impression of too little sleep and too much responsibility.
    “Hi.” Noah drew me into his arms and rested his forehead against mine. “I have an hour between appointments and figure this might be the last time this weekend you have a minute to call your own.”
    “You’re probably right about that.” As I caressed his cheek, a sense of peace I felt with no one else stole overme. “Any luck finding your mother a home health aide that she’ll accept?”
    “Cross your fingers.” Noah took my hand and stroked his thumb against my palm. “I finally took your advice, and on Monday, I hired a young, attractive male aide.” Noah wrinkled his brow. “I should have done it when you first suggested it, but the idea was so unnerving that I couldn’t make myself consider it.”
    “I told you that he’d just be eye candy.” I tapped Noah’s perfect nose. “You know darn well Nadine wouldn’t dream of having an affair with the hired help, but with the right guy, she’ll enjoy some harmless flirtation and keep him around for the attention.”
    “So far, so good.” Noah smiled ruefully. “It’s been three days and she hasn’t fired him yet. The previous record was twelve hours.”
    “That sounds hopeful.” I slipped my arms around his neck, enjoying the strength of his embrace. “Maybe Monday, once this cupcake contest is over, we can actually spend some time together.”
    “I wish I could, but . . .” He trailed off, refusing to meet